The Rise of McFaul

Not every academic researcher gets a chance to put her or his theory into practice — that’s kind of the definitive Ivory Tower stereotype: lots of big words and lofty principles that don’t necessarily matter in real life.

But right now, Stanford University’s Michael McFaul is getting the rare opportunity to defy that stereotype by accompanying President Obama to Russia as the administration continues to try and reset its relationship with the Moscow regime.

This will be familiar stomping grounds for McFaul, who spent much of his career studying Russia, including a period as a visiting scholar at Moscow State University and as a field representative for the National Democratic Institute.

In February, McFaul left Stanford to become special assistant to the president for National Security Affairs and senior director for Russian and Eurasian affairs at the National Security Council — a mouthful of a title that boils down to “Russia Guy.”

The nice thing about academics is that they are profligate writers and most of their stuff is publicly available (such as the above video from March 2008). Here’s what McFaul wrote for an appearance at the House Committee on Foreign Affairs in 2008, right after the Georgia crisis:

Instead of business as usual or isolation, the United States must navigate a third, more nuanced, more complicated, and more comprehensive strategy that seeks to bolster our allies and partners, check Russian aggression, and at the same time deal directly with the Russian government on issues of mutual interest. The long term goal of fostering democratic change and keeping the door of Western integration open for countries in the region, including Russia, must not be abandoned. American foreign policy leaders have to move beyond tough talk and catchy phrases and instead articulate a smart, sustained strategy for dealing with this new Russia, a strategy that advances both our interests and values.

Consider the similarities to McFaul’s comments in a conference call this week:

On NATO expansion and missile defense, I would just say this, that we’re definitely not going to use the word “reassure” in the way that we talk about these things. We’re not going to reassure or give or trade anything with the Russians regarding NATO expansion or missile defense. Rather, our approach is different than that. We’re going to define our national interests, and by that I also mean the interests of our allies in Europe with reference to these two particular questions. We’re going to talk about them very frankly as we did in April when we first met with President Medvedev. And then we’re going to see if there are ways that we can have Russia cooperate on those things that we define as our national interests.

In this century, we need a strong European Union that deepens the security and prosperity of this continent, while extending a hand abroad. In this century – in this city of all cities – we must reject the Cold War mind-set of the past, and resolve to work with Russia when we can, to stand up for our values when we must, and to seek a partnership that extends across this entire continent.

Weigh in: Is McFaul giving Obama the right advice for resetting Russia?